Summary

The Automated Parking Attendant (APA) is a commercial system designed to facilitate efficient use of parking resources in urban environments. The APA is a commercial system purchased by parking vendors and installed at their facility. The APA enables automated intake, parking, recovery, and payment capabilities for customers of the parking facility.

Scope

The APA system shall maximum parking efficiency at a vendor’s facility be automating the parking process for customers of the facility. The system shall provide an intake point that allows customers to enter their vehicle into the system. The user shall be permitted to exit the vehicle at their own pace prior to initiation of the parking process. The system shall record the entry try to the facility for purposes of charging the customer. The system shall uniquely identify vehicles that have been entered into the facility in such a way that only the customer shall be capable of initiating retrieval of the vehicle for departure. The intake process shall minimum the maneuvering of the vehicle prior to parking (e.g. the driver enters the vehicle forward into the system).

The APA shall be capable of parking any standard Class D vehicles (e.g. sedans, trucks, vans, etc). The APA shall be capable of increasing the parking density of a vendor facility by a minimum of 50%. The APA shall be capable of being installed at any open-air, single ground level parking facility. The system shall be capable of operating in any weather condition including rain, snow, ice. If necessary appropriate maintenance activities to ensure operation in this conditions may be applied.

The system shall be self contained at the vendor’s facility including power, computer systems, payment system, etc.
The APA shall allow a customer to initiate retrieval of a vehicle using the unique vehicle identified determined at entry time. The system shall calculate and obtain payment from the customer prior to initiating the retrieval process. The system shall retrieve the vehicle in such a way to minimize vehicle maneuvering post-retrieval (e.g. the vehicle exits the facility in a forward orientation.